British+North+America+Act

=British North America Act, 1867= The British North America Act, 1867, renamed the Constitution Act, 1867, in 1982, Is one of the most important of a series of acts and amendments that set the laws and such for the governing of Canada, including the British North America Act, 1840, eventually leading to the Canada Act in 1982. It set Canada as a self-governing federal dominion,(though still under British rule;) as well as most of the structure for it's governing, with a British-style government, eg. House of Commons, Justice System, Senate, and Taxation system.

Preamble
The Preamble of the 1867 document outlined that New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada desired to be one dominion under the United Kingdom, "With a constitution similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom. By emulating the British constitution some argue that since there had been a degree of freedom of expression in Britain at the time, that these rights were extended to Canada through the Preamble, prior even to the enactment of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which occurred in 1982.

Union
The Union part of the document stated that the two parts of the province of Canada would be renamed as Ontario and Quebec, and they were given equal status with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the parliament. The province's would be given Regional Equality, with 24 senators each from the regions of Maritime provinces, so that Canada would be strong in its defenses and government without complete reliance on Britain, which was acting only for the better interest of Britain, and not for the betterment of Canada.

**Distribution of Powers**
The Distribution of Powers, outlines the division of the powers of government between lawmaking for “Peace, Order, and Good Government.” Such as deciding which matters are under Provincial vs. Federal jurisdiction, Provincial matters being such as Resources and Education, Which matters fell under shared jurisdiction, such as Pension, Agriculture, and Immigration. It also addresses matters such as civil rights, and property management.

**Small Bill of Rights**
Even though there is no official Bill of Rights for the 1867 document, there are small instances of rights distributed throughout the document, something that has been referred to as the "Small Bill of Rights." It also addresses some of the Language Rights, allowing bilingualism in parliament, as well as bilingual record keeping ; though Canada was still not officially a bilingual country.

It gives the province the power to make law related "to property and civil rights to the province" The power has been read broadly that the provinces are giving authority over numerous problems such as professional trades, labour relations, and consumer protection.

Is authority judicial system in Canada and that it is divided by two groups Parliament and the provincial legislatures.

The parliament has the power to create a "general court of appeal for Canada" and " additional court for a better Administrator of the Laws of Canada." The parliament used their power to create the Supreme Court of Canada and lower federal courts. The lower federals court, such as the federal court of Apparel, the federal court, the tax court of Canada, and the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, All of these courts are created under the second branch of the Government.


 * Resources**

1. Government of Canada. Department of Justice. //British North America Act, 1867 - Enactment no. 1//. Web. [|].

2. Wikipedia-The Free Encyclopedia. //Constitution Act, 1867.// N.p., 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 17 May 2012. [|].

Munroe, Susan. "About.com Canada Online." //British North America Act - BNA Act//. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2012. [|.]